Title
A concept plan for the Midtown Collections at Cottonwood Creek proposing a small lot PUD concept for 111 single-family detached dwelling units at 5.3 dwelling units per acre with a maximum building height of 35 feet.
(Quasi-Judicial)
Related Files: CPC LUM 17-00064, CPC PUZ 17-00065
Presenter:
Peter Wysocki, Director Planning and Community Development
Michael Schultz, Principal Planner, Planning and Community Development
Body
Summary:
Applicant: Classic Consulting Engineers & Surveyors, LLC
Owners: Cook Communications
Location: Southwest of the intersection of Woodmen Road and Lee Vance Drive
The request is to amend the City’s 2020 Comprehensive Land Use Map from “Employment Center” to “General Residential”, rezone the property from OC/SS/AO (Office Complex and Streamside and Airport Overlays) to a PUD zone for small lot residential and a PUD Concept Plan for the Midtown Collections at Cottonwood Creek illustrating the layout of 111 small lot detached single-family homes. The property was originally planned for office development as part of the Cook Communications Ministries Concept Plan and later amended for multi-family and single-family use.
Previous Council Action:
No previous action has been taken.
Background:
The 2020 Land Use Plan identifies the site as both “General Residential” and “Employment Center”, splitting the property with the designated land uses. Staff required the amendment to include the entire site as General Residential to ensure that the future intent of the property was clarified on the Land Use Plan map.
The General Residential Land Use designation within the Comprehensive Plan allows for higher density residential (8 - 11.99 dwelling units per acre) or higher, however the proposed development has a gross density of 5.3 dwelling units per acre, well below the medium density development specified above.
The Cook Communications Concept Plan was originally approved in 2004 for what was intended to be primarily an office complex mixed with some retail and warehouse uses. The approximately 95 acre site was zoned PIP-1 (Planned Industrial Park) and OC (Office Complex). The subject property was originally intended for 198,000 square feet of office buildings.
The Cook Communications Concept Plan was later amended in 2008 as part of change of zone from PIP-1 to OC relating to the subject property; the Concept Plan amendment for the subject property was for “Active Adult/Multi-Family”, which included attached single-family residential. As part of the 2008 zone change and concept plan amendment it was noted that a “minimum 50 foot setback” between the proposed development and the existing single-family development located east of the site. This proposal demonstrates a 75 foot distance between the property lines of the existing residential and the property lines of proposed homes of this development. Included in that distance is a 15 foot landscape buffer; landscaping details will be provided as part of the future development plan.
The Cook Communications Concept Plan has undergone several recent amendments, re-envisioning the site from mostly an office development to more of a mixed-use development. Two recent amendments included converting Lee Vance View (the primary drive between Rangewood Drive to the west and connecting to Woodmen Road to the east) from a private street to a public street; Cook Communications reconstructed the street and dedicated the right-of-way to the City (this included a change in the street prefix from “View” to “Drive”).
The most recent amendment to the concept plan involved a request to rezone the OC (Office Complex) zone and expand the existing PBC (Planned Business Center) zoning in the northwest portion of the overall site or more specifically that area located southeast of the intersection of Woodmen Road and Rangewood Drive. This includes a future CVS retail store along with future commercial and retail uses. Staff is also reviewing a proposed self-storage facility located at the southeast corner of Woodmen Road and Lee Vance Drive. The accompanying City Planning Commission staff report outlines the amendments to the Cook Communications concept plan.
The proposed zone change is from the existing OC/SS/AO (Office Complex with Streamside and Airport Overlay) to PUD/SS/AO (Planned Unit Development with Streamside and Airport Overlay) for the purpose of detached single-family residential, with a maximum density of 5.3 dwelling units (DU’s) per acre and maximum building height of 35 feet.
The proposed concept plan was reviewed using the City’s Small Lot Planned Unit Development Review Criteria and Guidelines, dated April 2005. The manual is intended to provide minimum design standards for proposed developments whose average single-family lot size is less than 6,000 square feet. The design manual also provides recommendations on overall site design and layout, public and private street design, common open space within the development and pedestrian connectivity.
This project proposes lot sizes ranging from 2,086 square feet to 2,533 square feet; lot widths will be 28 feet, 30 feet and 34 feet in width and lot depths of 74.5 feet. The developer has a specific home designed to fit the proposed lot widths; home widths will be at 22 and 24 feet in width to properly fit on the lot. Homes will be off-set on the lot to have a 1 foot setback on one side and a 5 foot setback on the other; homes will have a 6 foot separation between units.
The attached memo to the City Planning Commission and the Planning Commission hearing minutes provide additional information and background regarding the proposed 2020 Land Use Plan amendment, PUD zone change and PUD concept plan.
Financial Implications:
N/A
Board/Commission Recommendation:
At the City Planning Commission hearing on August 17, 2017, the items were pulled from the consent calendar, along with another proposed small lot PUD project for discussion. Planning Commission discussed the concept of small lot PUD development and if it was appropriate within certain portions of the City, citing the availability of land, primarily within the outer limits and greenfield areas of the City. Planning Commission ultimately voted 5 - 0 in favor of the 2020 Land Use Map Amendment, 4 - 1 in favor of both the zone change and PUD concept plan (four (4) Commissioners were absent). Please reference the minutes from the hearing for a detailed record. Commissioner Henninger casted the “no” vote on the concept plan as he felt the project is too dense and lots are too small/narrow.
Stakeholder Process:
Upon submittal of the requests public notice was mailed to 103 property owners within a 1,000-foot radius of the subject site and the property was posted as part of the internal review notification. Three (3) comments were received, one just prior to the public hearing; the concerns from residents were grading and dust from the site, separation and screening of the development from the adjacent single-family residential and drainage.
Prior to the City Planning Commission hearing the site was posted with the public hearing information and a postcard was mailed to the same 103 property owners located within 1,000 feet of the site; no residents appeared at the public hearing to contest the proposed Land Use applications.
Staff sent plans to the standard internal and external review agencies for comments including Colorado Springs Utilities, City Engineering, City Traffic Engineering, Water Resources Engineering, City Fire, City Police, Enumerations, Floodplain, Real Estate Services, City Landscape, Comcast, E-911 and Parks and Recreation. There are no outstanding major review comments regarding this project.
Alternatives:
1. Uphold the action of the City Planning Commission
2. Modify the decision of the City Planning Commission
3. Reverse the action of the City Planning Commission
4. Refer the matter back to the City Planning Commission for further consideration
Recommended Action
Proposed Motion:
Approve the PUD Concept Plan for Midtown Collection at Cottonwood Creek, based upon the findings that the PUD Concept Plan meets the review criteria for granting a PUD concept plan as set forth in City Code Section 7.3.605 and meets the review criteria for granting a concept plan as set forth in City Code Section 7.5.501(E).
Summary of Ordinance Language